Kingdoms of Hearts
by Pearlinprocess
Summary: Sequel to "That Which Warms the Frozen Heart" and "The Heart is a Battlefield". This is the story of Cedric's experiences as a professor in Arendelle, what Sofia was doing while he was away, and what happened when he finally came back to Enchancia. For even when we are kingdoms apart, our hearts are still as one... Cedfia, rated T. Hope you guys enjoy, and please review!


Cedric had been sick with heartache since the pointed tower-tops of Enchancia Castle had disappeared beneath the ocean horizon. He was also literally seasick and could barely bring himself to eat at all during the long, cold voyage. So when the ship finally arrived at the port of Arendelle, although it did his heart good to see so many people waiting to greet him, his already skinny physique had become nearly gaunt.

Queen Elsa had arranged a feast in his honor that night, and although no one said anything at first, it worried everyone how the guest of honor was barely picking at his food. Sarah, who had been seated next to Cedric, was the first to mention it at about halfway through the meal, "Boy, you'll be no use to us or any of the students if you starve to death before the first term starts! Come now, eat up - You haven't even touched the glog-marinated roast! I made that myself and it's an Arendelle specialty, so I won't have you turning your long nose up at it!"

He turned to glare at her for the insult, until he saw the warm smile tucked under her identical long nose. She was only joking with him. Slowly he smiled back and mumbled, "Alright, I'll try it..."

The meat had a spicy-acidic smell to it, and Cedric hadn't been sure he'd like the taste - He'd always been a somewhat picky eater, and like most wizards had a tendency to reach for candy and sweets first before anything else. But since Sarah had gone through the trouble of making it, he forced himself to at least choke down a few bites so she wouldn't be offended.

However, when he finally brought a forkful to his mouth, he was pleasantly surprised to find that it was one of the tastiest roasts he'd ever had. The gravy it was saturated in was heavily spiced with something like apple or tart pear, with plenty of rosemary and garlic cloves. And the meat was so incredibly tender, Cedric realized that Sarah had to have spent the entire day preparing it for them.

He didn't have any trouble finishing his plate after that.

Later in the night when it was time to retire, Sarah led him by candlelight to his room, which she explained was right next to her's. "So if you should need anything, you'll know where I am."

She then proceeded to lead him into his room, pointing out where the toiletries were and explaining that Queen Elsa and Princess Anna had stocked his cabinets full of Winter clothing, even though it was still Summer. You never knew when a freak storm would start brewing in Arendelle, after all.

She left him while he changed into his bedclothes, returning a few moments later with a cup of warmed milk. She handed it to him and then went over to his bed, fluffed his pillows and pulled the covers back for him. He blushed a little as she did so, suddenly realizing for the first time in his life that he might be a little old to still have his mother doing such things for him. But just as that thought occurred to him, he remembered how Winifred had always fussed over him the same way whenever he was around her, and his heart ached all over again missing her.

"You don't have to do all that..." He mumbled as she finished, sipping the milk.

"I know I don't HAVE to!" She snapped back at him, rolling her eyes as she made her way over to him, and brushed some bread crumbs off the front of his robe. "I wanted to, alright? I imagine the boat-ride here was awfully cold... So, I just thought it might be nice to have a warm welcome after that..."

He hid his smile behind the milk-mug and nodded appreciatively. "Thank you..."

She nodded and turned to retreat. But just before she reached the door, she glanced back at him over her shoulder. "Listen... I know I wasn't there for you before. It wasn't anyone's fault, but, all the same, I'd like to be there for you now, if you should ever need me. If you ever need someone to talk to, anything... I'm here." She concluded, a little awkwardly.

Cedric stared at her in a stunned silence for a second or two. Then he took a hesitant step forward, "Well, actually, if you wouldn't mind, there is one more thing I could use before I go to bed..."

"Yes?" She asked immediately.

He put the mug on the nearby chest of drawers, then opened his arms out to her. "A hug?"

She smiled and stepped into his arms, and patted him on the back. "Welcome home, son."

"Thank you, mother."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Eventually Cedric settled in to the new atmosphere, and the next week was quick to arrive. The day before term started, he moved all his things to his new room at the school, and got a look around his new classroom. He double-checked that all his supplies were in their proper places and then retired early so that he'd be rested for the busy morning to come.

Now his first class of the day had started, and he stood in front of the room full of young children, this year's newest additions. There were supposed to be twenty-two children on the roster, fourteen girls and eight boys. But when Cedric had completed the roll call, he noticed something wasn't right. No one was missing though - Actually the exact opposite was the case. There was an extra boy.

He had a sour expression on his face, but he paid closer attention to Cedric's lectures than any of the other students, most of whom seemed to still be too tired from being woken so early to fully appreciate the subtle art of potion-making. Over half the class was unable to successfully complete the simple eye-color changing potion perfectly by the end of class, but that strange boy, whose hair was such a dirty brown that it almost seemed like there might be a bit of moss growing in it, was one of the few that did, and his potion was the best out of all of them. The potion successfully changed his vivid forest-green eyes to the desired shade of blue perfectly. The other students he didn't even let try out their potions, for fear they might blind themselves.

The older students fared slightly better, but not by much. Potion-making was unfortunately not one of the more popular forms of magic. It wasn't as flashy or whiz-bang as other kinds of magic. Now, Cedric liked flashy and whiz-bang just as much as the next person, but there was something extremely satisfying about concocting a magic brew - All the interesting scents the ingredients came in and the incredible effects they could have on a body. If you couldn't appreciate potions, then you have no respect for one of the oldest and most noble forms of magic.

So of course Cedric took interest in the strange boy who wasn't supposed to be there, and consulted with the other professors about it at lunch.

Professor Posey, a plump woman with pretty pink cheeks and strawberry blonde hair, was the Magical Botany teacher, and she had informed him, "Oh, I think I know who he is... I've seen him coming in and out of houses on Elder Street a few times, covered in soot. I think he's a chimney-sweep. Or perhaps he sells firewood...?"

"Well he can't JUST be a chimney sweep if he's here." Cedric pointed out, "So why isn't he on the list?"

"Well..." Posey replied quietly, "I do have ONE idea... You see, when Arendelle decided to become a magic-safe nation, most of our people agreed with the idea. But a few families vehemently opposed it. Most of them left because of the divide, but a few of the poorer families were unable to do so. Parents have to enroll their children to the Academy, but if a magical child were born to one of these prejudiced individuals, I can imagine they might not want the child to attend... "

"Well, what are we supposed to do?" Cedric asked helplessly. "We're not going to just kick him out, are we? He's one of the only truly talented potion-makers in any of my classes!"

Posey looked away and sighed, "I dearly hope not. He's a terribly clever magical botanist too. Between that and his penchant for potions he could have a very promising future in sorcery..."

The astronomy teacher Professor Starr, a stern-looking older man with long white hair tied into a ponytail at the nape of his neck, interrupted them, "But it's not up to us. We can't keep the boy here without parental approval. If his guardian refuses to let him attend, that's all there is to it."

Well that might have been 'all there was to it' to Professor Starr, who already had two promising students fiercely competing to fill his spot when he retired, but Cedric wasn't about to let the issue die down so quickly. So before lunch period was up he asked Svetlana Strand, a surprisingly beautiful but also considerably powerful young sorceress with golden yellow locks, who was also the Headmaster, Divination Professor and granddaughter of Queen Elsa's oldest and most trusted steward, "Isn't there anything we can do, Headmaster Strand?"

"Well..." She began, and already Cedric didn't like the doubtful tone. "We could try speaking to his guardian and see if they'll allow it... But to be frank, I'm afraid I already have a bad feeling about this, Professor Cedric..." And coming from a seer, that actually meant something.

"We have to try." He insisted, and she nodded in kind.

Later that day when most of the classes were over, the professors let the students out into the courtyard for their free time before dinner, their final astronomy class after dark, and then bed. They were discussing the mystery boy among themselves, and watching him as he sat by himself, behind a tree.

"Well, he's got a little talent for Charms, I suppose..." The soft-spoken Professor Anthea Violante, the lovely wife of a general and mother of three, who had brown eyes, hair and skin, and often dressed in different shades of purple, charitably spoke of the boy. But then she felt compelled to add hesitantly, "Honestly though, I'd say he's only average..."

"Average in charms? Most children are good with charms!" The blustery Transfiguration Professor Borace Baum, an imposingly big and tall but strangely hairless man who wore thick fur coats and always had to keep a furry hat on his cold, bald head, bellowed deeply as he pushed up his spectacles, "And he's hopeless in my class! Wasn't even able to transform a cricket into a thimble!"

Headmaster Strand replied firmly, "We can't afford to sqaunder even small amounts of magical talent, Professor Baum... But the anti-social behavior is a problem..." She pointed out as a little blonde first year boy began to approach the dirty urchin.

He seemed to be asking if the boy wanted to play, but the strange boy shrank away. The smaller boy took another step towards him, and the slightly taller one snapped at him, "Leave me alone!"

The blonde boy's older sister immediately rushed over and scolded the stranger, "YOU leave him alone! He was just trying to be nice!"

A few of the other students stopped what they were doing and stared. Under their judgmental eyes, the boy lost his nerve and darted out of the courtyard so fast he almost tripped once. He ran out of the front gates and disappeared behind the corner.

The other professors weren't quite sure what to do at first, but Cedric immediately rushed to follow the boy before he lost him completely. After seeing him go, Headmaster Strand also followed after him.

They made sure not to alert the boy that they were following him, and stayed a short distance behind. After a while they came into the poorer streets of Arendelle, where everything seemed dirtier and more gray than usual. The boy stepped into an alleyway, and while Cedric and Svetlana waited for him, he had procured a bundle of wood on his back and began heading down the street once more.

After a while they came upon a little house. A young woman and two much younger girls were sitting on the porch, sewing plain black dresses with small, bony hands. Just as the boy was about to enter, the older girl stopped him, and said something quietly. The boy sighed, nodded, and sat down on the porch with his head in his hands instead of going inside.

Cedric and Svetlana began to approach the boy, but as soon as he saw the two of them his eyes went wide, and he quickly ran up to them with his hands out to push them back. "Please, I'm so sorry I disturbed your classes! I promise I won't come back, just please don't tell my father I went there!"

"Young man, please calm down." Svetlana tried to soothe him, but sternly. "We didn't come here to try and get you in trouble. We came because we're concerned about you. Do you think you could spare us a few moments to talk?"

The boy glanced hesitantly back at the house, then back at them, "Yeah, alright. He'll probably be busy for a while. Lets just walk down the street a bit, just in case he comes out..." He added, shuffling away. After raising an eyebrow at Svetlana, Cedric followed after him.

Once they were a fair distance away, the boy awkwardly rubbed his arm and looked up at them, "I'm sorry..." He repeated, "I heard about the new school for magical kids, and I just wanted to know what it was like to go, for just one day... But I know you have to have your parent's approval to go, and my dad will never go for it. In fact, he'd be really, -seriously- furious if he found out I went there today instead of selling firewood, like I was supposed to... My dad hates magic, he thinks it's the work of the devil, so he'd probably tan my hide if he found out I was learning it. Plus, my sisters work their hands to the bone everyday to help us get by. They'd starve if I stopped working to go to school everyday... So you see, I am sorry for wasting your time, but I can't go back to your school..."

Cedric and Svetlana were left staring in the wake of the boy's serious speech. Cedric was the first to recover, though barely. "Be honest, boy... Does your father hit you often?"

The boy looked away, "N-No... Not really..." He amended. "Because I usually do what he says, and keep out of his way... But I'm not going to test it. My father hates me..."

Cedric's mouth fell open, "Why do you think your own father hates you? Also, I suppose we should ask you your name..."

"It's Lars. Lars Garth Bartholomeus." The no-longer-nameless boy answered, shoving his hands into his pockets. "And, he just always has... My older sister's mother, his first wife, she left him because of me. He tried to tell her that my mother was a forest spirit that had bewitched him and left him with me, but she didn't believe him..."

"Who would..." Cedric mumbled under his breath, although the claim did cause him to take a second look at that tinge of green in the boy's brown hair. He shook it off and continued, "Well that's no good reason at all! Headmaster Strand, isn't there anything we can do? I just can't stand to see a magical education be squandered!"

"I know how you feel, Cedric... But without his father's permission, it would be against the law to take him anywhere..." Svetlana quietly reminded him.

"Yes," Cedric agreed shortly, "But his father probably wouldn't care where he was as long as he was selling something, isn't that right Lars? And that drafty castle could always use more firewood. So, say Lars were to come by right after all our other classes, but before supper, and make a firewood delivery? He should be able to stay at least long enough for a personal potions and magical botany class from Posey and me, and maybe a charms class once in a while if Professor Violante can manage it? It won't be a complete or formal magical education, but it should be enough to get him by in the real world with the natural talents he has."

The boy's green eyes went wide with hope and he looked to Svetlana, who in turn smiled at him and nodded, "I think that would be fine."

The child gasped with excitement, but then looked back over at Cedric in slight confusion, "But... Why would you do something so nice for me...?"

Cedric almost wanted to smile, as he understood his confusion well. But he didn't, he forced a grim line on his lips instead. "Magical folk have to look out for each other, and we hate to see a magical child go without an education. That's all there is to it. BUT, if you should ever think that I'm naive just because I just got off the boat, think again. If I EVER find anything missing after one of our classes, you'll be out before you know it! Understood?"

Lars nodded right away and then bowed deeply to the two of them, "Yes sir! Thank you so much, sir! Madam! I promise I'll be a good pupil!"

Svetlana nodded and stepped around the boy, "Then we shall see you at this time every weekday after this, Lars."

Cedric finally allowed him a small smile, "Work hard, Mister Bartholomeus."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Lars did indeed show up faithfully every day after the rest of the children had their classes to have his own, and he did indeed work hard. He soaked up every piece of knowledge Cedric and Posey had to offer him, and was always extra respectful whenever the lovely, lavender-clad Lady Anthea showed up with all her Charms.

At the end of the first school week, Sarah made a surprise visit to Cedric after the end of his classes. She blinked in surprise to see one of the students still in his class. "Oh, I'm sorry, am I interrupting-?"

"Of course not, mother. Come in." Cedric called back to her. "This is Lars. You could say he's my apprentice."

She stepped in, carrying a basket with her, which she laid down on his desk. "I brought you some sweet buns from the castle..."

Cedric glanced over at Lars, who despite being somewhat tall was also appallingly skinny. Taking one of the buns out for himself, Cedric then handed the rest of the basket over to Lars, who took it in shock, staring for just a minute before rushing to sit down and enjoy the contents.

From then on, Sarah continued to find another odds and ends from the castle every week to bring. Between that and Cedric's leftover's from lunch, they managed to put some meat on the Bartholomeus boy's scrawny bones.

OoOoOoOoOooOoOoOoOoOoO

Later that year when the Winter holidays approached (It was called Wassailia in Enchancia, Yuletide or Christmas to those in Arendelle) the students were dismissed for a few weeks to spend with their families. Cedric had been sure to send Lars home with extra food from the castle banquet, though he still worried about the boy. But Sarah had urged him to come to the castle for a few days too, and so he had accepted.

She brought some tea for the two of them to take in his room. He showed her a few simple magic tricks while she poured their tea, levitating their cookies and pulling out her seat for her with magic.

"Milk?" She asked.

"Just a splash." He nodded, floating a buttery biscuit over to his open mouth and snapping the coin-shaped disc in half.

The conversation was more or less this mundane for a short while, but then out of the blue Sarah asked him, "So, have there been any ladies to catch your eye, Cedric?"

He coughed, choking on a biscuit and burning with a blush as he sputtered back, "W-Wha-?"

"Oh come now!" She insisted shamelessly, and with a small grin. "You'd tell your mother, wouldn't you?"

"I'm not so sure I would!" He squeaked back, averting his eyes. "And anyways, what are you, a gossiping school-girl?"

Sarah had herself a laugh over that and replied semi-sarcastically, "What if I am? Look at me, I'm having biscuits and tea with a young man! If that's not what a school-girl would do, what is?"

Cedric smirked back at her, and rolled his eyes in amusement. "Sorry Sarah, but you probably shouldn't expect any grandchildren from me. It's not that I don't find some ladies to be attractive, I do... I just don't think I could ever actually tell them if I did... I'd be too nervous. And I'm sure none of them would think of me as a catch, either."

"Oh come now!" She insisted, "What about that Princess you told me about once? The one that called you 'sensational'?"

Cedric's blush went as bright red as possible, remembering that that was the one stark exception to his assumption. But he quickly denied as he did before, "No, no, NO-I suppose I should mention now that the Princess in question was seven years old when she said that..."

Sarah snorted, "Oh, so then she probably said that while you were doing tricks at her birthday party?" She semi-correctly guessed, then quickly amended, "Well that's all right. Turns out your Aunt Dana May is alive and well! Queen Elsa helped me find her, she's been living in Germany. She's got two daughters named Lilian Lynn and Donna, and Donna's got a son named Don. They're busy this holiday but Dana said she plans to visit next Summer. Won't that be nice, Cedric?"

He smiled and nodded, "Yes, it should be nice to meet my relatives. I must say though..." He remarked casually, thinking nothing of the passing remark that floated through his mind and out his lips, not processing what it might sound like aloud. "I'm surprised you never had any other children besides me. I mean, it's just..." He added when he noticed she seemed a bit taken aback by his words, "You're so maternal..."

He glanced back up at her innocently, and was shocked to find that there were tears gathering in her eyes. "M-Mother...?"

She quickly got up from her seat, and walked over to the fireplace, turning her back to him.

His heart suddenly felt heavy. "S-Sarah? Are you alright?"

She reached up and wiped at her eyes with her sleeve. "It's nothing, don't concern yourself..."

He quickly put down his tea and walked over to her, sitting down beside but slightly behind her, giving her privacy and space. "It's obviously not nothing. I'm sorry if I said something wrong..."

She was quiet for a moment as more tears flowed, and as much as she tried to stop them with her sleeve, they still kept flowing. Finally after a few more minutes of weeping and wiping, she began to speak in a quivering voice, "Oh, I don't even know why I'm crying... It was, s-so long ago..."

"What was so long ago...?" He quietly inquired, deeply concerned for her.

She was silent once more at first. Cedric patiently waited for her to speak and didn't pressure her to do so. Eventually she began, slowly and timidly, "M-My... Former husband..."

Cedric's heart plummeted at the tone in her voice, remembering what she'd told him before of the man in question. He continued to listen in silence, and it was a while again before she continued, in a whisper, "I avoided him, for the most part... But there were a few times, in the beginning of the marriage, when I could not..." She seemed to be finding it difficult to form the words and force them out, and Cedric felt pretty much the same way, frozen with horror.

"...I became pregnant once." She forced herself to go on past the hard lump in her throat. "And I wanted nothing more in the world than not to be... I cursed my body and the body within it. I hated us both, and I wished that the both of us would die. B-But... Only he did..." She barely spoke the last words at all, they were so quiet.

Cedric stared down at the maroon and gold carpet underneath his knees while she began to laugh a little, softly but humorlessly. "I felt so horrible about it, though I don't know why. It was what I had wished for, after all... I suppose that's why though. I felt like it was my fault it had happened. And maybe... Maybe it was because I was so guilty for what I had wished for, that I resigned myself to my fate after that. Although my husband found someone else to bother, and I was only too happy to keep my nose out of it. I was like that for a long time... Until I met you again, Cedric, dear..."

She finally looked back at him, smiling sincerely through her tears. "I know I have no right to claim you, but... You're the best thing I ever did with my life..."

He finally scooted over to her and wrapped an arm around her back, leaning his head onto her shoulder. "You should give yourself more credit, mum. You might not have raised the Royal Sorcerer of Enchancia, but you're helping to raise the Princess of Arendelle. That's certainly something!"

"Ohoho!" She shoved him playfully but then leaned her head back against his. "You're wonderful, my boy. Too wonderful not to find someone who will see you for how wonderful you are!" She insisted. "So, you ought to be more confident in yourself!"

"Hmm, you're right." Cedric replied coyly, causing his elder to raise an eyebrow at him. "Queen Elsa is rather extraordinary..."

She gawked at him, "That might be a bit TOO ambitious, son..." He snorted back in amusement, showing he was kidding, and she sighed in relief, "But what about Lady Strand? She's very beautiful too, isn't she?"

Cedric shook his head, "Oh mother, you -really- don't know Headmaster Strand. I think it might actually be easier to court the Ice Queen."

"Do you really think that?"

"...Well, no." He admitted with a grin, "But the point is about the same. Headmaster Strand might seem warmer and more friendly than the Queen, and she is with children and most half-decent people. But because of her psychic abilities she dislikes physical contact most of the time, with only a few exceptions like her mother and father and other people who are very close to her. It makes her have visions sometimes when she touches other people though. So it's pretty much a given that she's not interested in courtship."

"Oh..." Sarah replied, finally getting it. "Well still, all the same, my dear - If you prefer to be alone too, that's completely fine. But you know, as your mother, I can't help but truly hope you find someone someday who loves you for the sensational fellow you are, who inspires you to love them back..."

Cedric smiled and glanced away, remembering that one person who had done just that, and hoping she was happy, wherever she was now. "Hmm. Perhaps someday, I suppose. Stranger things have happened..."

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Princess Amber, Prince James and Princess Sofia had all recently graduated from Royal Prep at the age of eighteen, and had to then decide what they would do thereafter. Princess Amber was born first before James and therefore, by Enchancian Law, was the rightful heir before him. In many other countries James or any other boy would always be given the throne before her, and it had been that way in Enchancia once long before, but not now.

Besides that too, James had decided after all that he didn't really want to be King, at least not so much to insist upon on. He much preferred his knight training, and he had expressed to the family that he wanted to take the final steps to become a full-fledged knight. King Roland had accepted this, and Amber, who had become a much more mature and much less selfish person over the years thanks to Sofia's influence, still accepted her father's decision to enroll her into the Finishing School for Queens with her usual grace - By squealing with joy.

Then it was Sofia's turn to decide, and she admitted that she wasn't really sure yet what she wanted to do. Miranda supported her, of course. She said it was fine for kids to take a year off to decided. Roland agreed, and they didn't pressure her to make up her mind right away.

During that year, Tilly and her then husband Sir Bartleby arrived for a visit. Finding Sofia to be the only chick left in the nest, Tilly commented, "I do agree that children should take some time to themselves, but at the same time it does no good to dilly-dally! That's why I'd like to make a proposal, actually."

" A proposal?" Roland, Miranda and Sofia all parroted after her.

"Yes!" Tilly clapped her hands. "Sofia, how would you like to come along with me on my travels for a couple of years or so, and study magic from me personally?"

Sofia's mouth dropped. It was considered a great honor to a student for a master magician to offer to share their secrets with them, but it was on a completely different level with Tilly, who had never done such a thing for anyone before. She was well known for being a free spirit, completely untethered to any one place or person for long. The only exception to that was Sir Bartleby, but that was only because he was able to keep up with her, not because she wished to stop for him.

But plenty of people aren't the type to completely understand that, and even Miranda mistakenly inquired, "Are you sure, Tilly? I mean, it's just, don't you and Bartleby, er..." She faltered there and blushed a bit, which caused Tilly to burst out into laughter.

"I think I know what you're getting at here, Miranda! Sir Bartleby and I have already discussed this and agreed that neither of us want children of our own. That's why I'd really like to pass my magic down to Sofia, if she'd like to accompany me for a while!"

"Oh, that sounds SO wizz-bang! Can I mom, dad, please?" Sofia begged, bouncing up and down.

Roland and Miranda glanced at each other, then both nodded. "Of course." Miranda answered.

"But," Roland added, "Just out of curiosity Sis, where exactly would you be taking Sofia?"

Matilda tapped her boot with the end of her umbrella as she thought. "Well, I'm not sure about -exactly- just yet, but I hear America is the place to be! I say we go sight-seeing around the States for a while, then maybe take a tour through Rome, Greece, Egypt, what have you! And I'll have her back home before she's a spinster! How does all that sound?"

Sofia blushed and giggled, "It sounds amazing! I can't wait!"

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Though Sofia rejoiced, back in Arendelle Cedric was more worried than he'd been in years. Wormwood had been up in age years ago, so it didn't really surprise him, but his bird friend hadn't been himself lately. He'd gone blind in one eye earlier that year, so he didn't go out as much as he used to. Cedric had long stopped using his old friend in spells like he did when he was a bratty, careless child, and nowadays he even went out of his way trying to make the old raven more comfortable.

But recently, Wormwood had unexpectedly started going out much longer than he usually would. When he'd started getting old, he'd also started restricting his time outside to only about half an hour at a time, so as not to chill his old bird-bones. In the last few days, however, he had started going out for two to three hours at a time, and when he finally did return to Cedric's tower, he always looked distracted, constantly glancing back out and pecking at the window.

So when Cedric let him out the next day, since it was Sunday and classes were out, he decided to follow the bird. When he hopped out of the window, Cedric gathered a bewitched broomstick and took off through the window too. Wormwood didn't fly as quickly as he used to with his blind eye though, so Cedric flew at a slow pace to keep up behind him.

He flew over some housetops and through a few streets. When they were nearly on the outskirts of town, Wormy entered an alleyway behind a second-rate restaurant, where they threw out scraps of meat and other odds and ends from their meals.

At first Cedric held his nose, expecting that the raven had come to pick at the scraps. But instead when the bird landed, it hopped over behind the garbage can, and cawed expectantly.

Cedric's eyes widened as a little white and gray ball of fluff appeared from behind the can. A dog. A pup... Perhaps, a...?

Cedric landed down on the ground, and stepped around to get a better look. When the pup noticed him, it cowered back, burrowing against it's mother on the other side of the trash heap.

The sorcerer's eyes once again went wide with shock as he processed the sight in front of him. The mother dog, which in appearance seemed definitely more like a wolf, was clearly dead. Lord knows what she was doing away from her pack, or what she had died from, but she was definitely dead. She was completely stiff and her tongue was hanging out, and there were flies all around her. She hadn't been dead long enough yet to rot significantly, at least not in the winter cold, but that wouldn't be the case for much longer.

The pup, lord knows how it wasn't also dead. It seemed just barely old enough to eat the scraps instead of being dependent on it's mother's milk. But the pup was rather skinny, and it had an eye infection which would be a very nasty problem if it continued to go untreated.

Wormwood looked back at Cedric and cawed again, nodding back over at the pup. He seemed very tired, hoping his normally dense human would get it just this once. Cedric raised an eyebrow back at him, "Are you... Friends, with this dog?"

"Caw." Wormwood nodded with relief, hopping slowly over to the pup, where he rustled his wings a bit, seemingly communicating with the pup the way animals do sometimes.

After listening to the raven for a short while, the lupine pup looked up at Cedric and cocked it's head, unsure.

Cedric wasn't entirely sure about the situation either. He could honestly say that he had never in his life, not once, tried to take home a stray. He'd never been that type, and he had Wormy, who had himself always been a solitary animal before this.

But it was clear what Wormy was asking him to do now. Hesitantly bending down in front of the pup, Cedric held his nose with one hand and beckoned him with the other, "Come on now, dog. You're sure to die if you stay here. Come with me, and we'll... Find something to do with you, I suppose..."

The puppy shrank away at first, until Wormwood hopped into Cedric's shoulder and cawed insistently at him. Then the little wolf finally began to inch forward, slowly.

Cedric waited for him for a moment, but it was cold and smelly, so when the pup was finally close enough Cedric scooped him up, tucking him under one arm and using the other to grip his broomstick as he got back on and began to fly. Frightened but attracted to Cedric's body heat, the pup burrowed against his chest.

He didn't go back to the school at first. The Academy approved certain animal companions, but dogs and especially wolves were not on that list. It was hardly a better option, but Cedric ended up going towards Arendelle Castle, through the servant's entrance in the back, which his mother had showed him not long after he arrived.

Tucking the pup inside of his robes, Cedric left his broomstick in a cupboard and went to seek out his mother. It didn't take long, she was right where he'd expected she'd be, in the kitchen making something in a pot that looked strange but smelled tasty. Though Cedric's stomach growled, he ignored the food went straight to Sarah, "Mother, I need your help with something..."

She glanced over at him, a little worried but mostly interested by the strangely shy look on her son's face. "What's the matter, Cedric?"

He avoided her eyes directly at first, "Would it be alright if we went to your room to speak...?"

She raised an eyebrow at his strange request, but shrugged it off and motioned for him to follow. When they got to her room, she inquired as soon as the door had closed, "Alright then, what's all this about?"

Blushing, Cedric reached into his robes and pulled out the pup, holding him out for Sarah to see, and as soon as he had, she at first gasped, then burst out into laughter. "Oh my heavens boy! What on Earth-?"

"I know, I know!" Cedric rolled his eyes upwards and sighed dramatically. "Bringing strays home is for children! But Wormwood has been worrying over this dog, because the mother..." He trailed off, feeling guilty about saying it around the pup, even if it couldn't understand. "Well, he's all alone, and I just couldn't leave him there in the cold..."

Sarah smiled warmly at him. "Oh Cedric... What a kind-hearted young man you are. I don't know how much we can do for him... But, we'll do what we can."

Cedric beamed back at her, "Thank you, mother."

"Aye, aye." She shook away his gratitude. "Leave him here a minute and help me get some medicine and rags together, and we'll see what we can do about that eye. I can't guarantee you he'll survive the next few weeks of Winter after what he's been through, but he'll be a lot more likely to if that eye heals up..."

Cedric nodded and placed the pup down on the rug by Sarah's bed. Wormwood hopped off of his shoulder to stay with the dog, and Cedric again wondered just what had come over the normally solitary bird.

After collecting some old linen and some herbs from the garden, Cedric and Sarah returned to her room. Cedric mentioned to her as they approached her door, "I swear, I've never brought an animal home before! Have you?"

She shook her head. "No, come to mention it, I never did either. But if I ever did it certainly wouldn't have been a wolf pup! To be completely honest, Cedric, your grandfather probably would have taken it straight to the lake, if you know what I mean!"

"Mother!" Cedric shushed her as she began to open the door, again, as if the pup could hear it and be offended.

But then suddenly, to both of the human's deep shock, as soon as they opened the door they were temporarily blinded by an almost painfully bright, lavender-tinted light. When the light faded back to it's source, Cedric was shocked to find that it had come from Wormwood, who had just taken his beak back from the puppy's forehead. The light sparked from the raven's beak and traveled into the pup's infected eye. Seconds later, the pus and the puffiness of the infection had faded away along with the strange, magical light.

"Wha-Cedric!" Sarah exclaimed, clutching the basket of herbs with fear. "Is your raven magical too?"

Cedric stared, just as shocked and confused as she was. "I..." He began doubtfully, but then paused as an old memory passed by his mind's eye. He suddenly remembered when his father had first given him Wormwood, when he had just started primary school. Goodwin had told him, 'He's a -very- special bird, Cedric...'

Then, to Cedric's deep shock, Wormwood began to wheeze and cough haggardly as soon as the light had faded from him, and he wobbled unsteadily on his feet. The pup sniffed at him in concern, but Cedric pushed him back to inspect his faithful old companion himself. "Wormy, what's wrong...?"

He scooped up the raven into his hands, shivering to realize how dreadfully limp the bird was. Wormwood looked up at him tiredly, but somehow, his one good eye seemed to reflect feelings of pride and accomplishment. "Wormwood, what's happening to you? Sarah, we need to help him!"

Sarah raised a sympathetic brow at the back of her son. "Cedric, my dear, how old is that bird...?"

"What? Oh, I don't know! I got him when I started primary, so... Thirty-seven, maybe thirty-eight years?"

His mother's mouth dropped, and she was quiet for a minute. Finally after a few unsuccessful tries at speech, she managed to mumble, "Cedric... I'm not sure if I can say this any more gently, but... I've never heard of a raven living so long... I'm not sure if there's anything we can do for him..."

Though there was much pain in Cedric's brown eyes, Wormwood's black and grey beads seemed only to be content with his present situation, as if a deep wisdom had come over him that only those who have come to accept the inevitability of their fates will ever know. He cawed weakly up at his old master, who again remembered the day that his companion had come into his life. The day he first remembered his father's hair going gray, well before Winifred's...

"Goodwin..." Cedric mumbled weakly, putting together the old puzzle pieces of his memory and squinting to make sense of the image. "My father... He used life transference magic on you, didn't he? He put some of his life energy into you, so that you'd live a longer life... To make sure I didn't hurt you too much like the little idiot I was, and to keep me happy longer... And now, you've given that magical energy to heal him, haven't you?"

Wormwood nodded peacefully, but Cedric's inner turmoil continued to brew, and tears welled in his eyes. "But Wormy... Why...?"

Wormwood let out a short, cackle-like caw. Humans were so terribly simple-minded sometimes, and needlessly emotional. The magic might have kept him alive just a little bit longer, but his time on this planet had come and gone. It was better to go this way, to give the magic to someone else who needed it - After all, he couldn't take it with him.

Sarah patted Cedric on the shoulder, "I'm so sorry, dear... Perhaps, he might like to get comfortable on a pillow, and watch the snow outside the windowsill...?"

Cedric nodded slowly, taking Wormwood to her window just as she had suggested, but keeping him in his arms instead. The shiny black feathers reflected Cedric's form as the bird's chest rose and fell while he breathed. After a while that motion started to get slower, and slower. By the time night had fallen, he wasn't moving anymore.

The pup came and settled next to Cedric's feet. When the moon had risen and the sorcerer's tears finally began to fall, the wolf joined him in a mournful howl.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

It was 1869, Knoxville, Tennessee, and Tilly and Sofia had been invited to a ball. Normally Tilly didn't burden either herself or Sofia with fancy shin-digs that neither really wanted to attend, but this was the New Writer's Ball, an event hosted by the publishers of Godey's Lady's Book, Sofia's favorite magazine. All the newest writers were being shown off, and Sofia was eager to meet them all.

But not long after they had arrived, Sofia started to wonder if it was a good idea after all. When she tried to talk with many of the writer's in attendance, often they were rather snobby about their intellect, trying to prove they were each smarter and more sophisticated than the others. Sofia soon grew bored of it and began to hang back around the edges of the party instead.

As she did so, she came to notice another young lady sitting by the walls. She had dark hair curled into the latest fashion, and a fine dress to wear, but somehow she seemed a little out of place, particularly because she was writing on a pad instead of joining in the festivities. So, naturally, Sofia went straight to her.

"Hello!" She chirped with a big, bright smile. "My name is Sofia! Are you a new writer too? I hope you don't mind me saying, but you must be awfully busy, if you'd rather work than enjoy the party."

The young woman, who seemed to be Sofia's age, shrugged. "I believe a party is only as good as the company it keeps. I'd say nothing ill of anyone in attendance, but they're just not my type of people... And, to be honest, I AM rather busy. Many of these other writer's were born into money, and they do it for fun. But I don't have that luxury... I am sorry though, I shouldn't speak so negatively. My name is Frances Eliza Hodgson, pleased to meet you, Sofia."

Sofia gasped, "Wait, I've heard of you! I love your work! You're new to Godey's, but you're easily my favorite by far! I'm sorry, I won't disturb you any more if you're busy, I just want you to know that I think you're fantastic!"

Frances smiled softly and nodded slowly, "Thank you, Miss Sofia. But please, don't go just yet. I shouldn't be so rude. I'm afraid I've just had a lot on my mind lately..."

Sofia paused and then sat down next to her. "Are you okay? Would you like to talk about it?"

The young woman sighed, looking down at her lap. "It's just... My mother hasn't been well lately. But, that's why I have to keep writing." She tapped her notepad a few times in demonstration. "I've made more money doing this than any other job I've had before! So maybe, if I keep writing, if I write enough - Maybe I can take my mother to a good hospital, and they'll make her well again..."

"I'm so sorry..." Sofia mumbled back to her with sad eyes. "I hope your mother gets well too... I'm sure she will!" She added, trying to remain positive and lift the other woman's spirits.

Frances continued to smile, even though her eyes shined with tears. "Thank you Sofia... Pray tell me though - Can such a lovely, kind-hearted girl as yourself really exist, or are you an angel in disguise?"

Sofia giggled, "Oh Frances! You're too nice! Of course I'm not an angel, although, to be honest, I actually am a princess..."

The other woman's eyes went wide. "A princess? Truly? My, that IS something! To be completely honest with you though, I was born in England, but I've been living in America so long that I've adopted many of their ways and manners. Particularly a distaste for the system of monarchy..."

The princess sighed, "I actually know just what you mean. I wasn't born into royalty, my father the king married my mother, who was a commoner when I was a girl. I had to learn a lot of things that were very different than what I was used to. And by far, the most frustrating part about that was putting up with all the clueless royals. Not all of them are like that, of course, but some of them could be SO out of touch with regular people, it could get frustrating sometimes... Personally though, I believe every girl deserves the same respect and care that a princess would get. No matter how rich, or how old or how pretty or how smart - I say every girl is a princess!"

Frances stared openly at the strange, unbelieveably good girl, and slowly smiled, inspired. "Princess Sofia - If you'd agree to it, I believe I should like to write a story about someone like you someday! I can't say it will be soon, since I am terribly busy, but someday I'd like to write a story about a princess, who believes all girls are princesses too! Oh, but," She paused as something occurred to her. "I suppose you might like me to give the character a different name though? Just in case, I wouldn't want you to get in trouble for any reason..."

Sofia nodded, "That's a good idea, and I would love for you to write a book like that! Let me see... Well, I have a friend who has a mother named Sarah? I always thought that was a pretty name!"

"Princess Sara?" Frances repeated, the spelling of the name a bit different in her mind's eye. "That sounds lovely! I shall surely write a story about this 'Little Princess' named Sara someday! So keep your eye out for it, alright Princess Sofia?"

"Definitely!" Sofia grinned, getting up and giving her companion a curtsy. "But for now - Would you like to come have a dance with me, Princess Frances?"

"Ohoho!" Frances grinned back at her and put her notepad down. "Why not!"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"I'm not naming you until I know if I can keep you for sure." Cedric sternly told the pup when it woke him up the next morning, licking his face, especially his nose, which he then also tried to nip with his sharp little wolf-teeth, until Cedric had promptly smacked him on his snout for it. "And if you do that again, I'm sure I won't want to!"

The pup had the good sense to look briefly ashamed, but quickly got over it and began trying to lick the big hairless wolf's strange paw. Cedric picked him up by the scruff of the neck and put him down on the floor while he began to get dressed. He'd stayed the night next door to his mother at the castle, and had buried his old friend in the garden under the light of the full moon, but now he had to be on his way back to the academy for class.

There soon came a knock at his door, and as he expected Sarah was on the other side, carrying a tray with a plate of ham and eggs, and a saucer of milk. "Oh, that looks good, mum-" He began, but then paused as she passed him, bent down and placed the tray on the floor for the pup, who, naturally, 'wolfed' it down. Cedric raised an eyebrow, "...Am I to assume I'll be having the chopped liver?"

She smacked him in the chest as she passed him again, "Oh quit being so melodramatic! I made you a plate too!" She informed him, going outside and bringing in another tray with more of the same, except with his milk in a glass instead of a saucer.

He accepted it with a sheepish smile, "Thank you, mum!"

He ate quickly, as the sun had now risen, then tucked the pup into his robes, retrieved his broom, and then went on his way back to the academy. When he arrived, the children were still at breakfast, but he barely had enough time to grab an extra piece of ham from the morning banquet, then store the pup and the ham in his private office before they began shuffling into his classroom for the first period.

Of course he was rather distracted all day because of it, worrying that the dog might make a mess by the time he came to retrieve him again. And sure enough he had, but Cedric wasn't too harsh on him for it since the pup was just that - A baby dog. So he cleaned it up dutifully, with only a mild glare for the ripped throw-pillow.

Finally, since class was now out, Cedric tucked the pup away once more and went to seek out Headmaster Strand. He found her out by the front steps of the castle, gazing at the students as they socialized out on the courtyard. "Headmaster, could I please trouble you for a few moments of your time?"

"Of course, Professor Goodwin." She smiled back at him, "What do you need?"

He took a deep breath before he could bring himself to answer, "Well... I seem to have very recently found myself in a rather strange sort of situation..."

Her smile faltered just a tad, and she raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What makes you say that?"

Squirming a bit, he pulled the pup out of his robes, held him out to her, and explained, rather in a huff, "My longtime pet and companion Wormwood the Raven passed away last night but right before he did so he saved this little pup by leading me to him in the cold, I know the academy doesn't allow dogs and of course I won't keep him if it's against the rules but I don't know what else to do with him, he'll probably die if I put him back on the streets or in the wild and I don't want that kind of thing hanging on my head!"

Svetlana continued to raise a brow at him as he gasped and huffed after his tirade, then glanced down at the pup, who stuck his tongue out and licked the air in front of her face, and woofed at her. She couldn't help but smile at the cute baby animal, and to Cedric's deep shock, she reached out and took the pup out of his hands, her fingers brushing against his - In all the years he'd known her, that was the first time she'd ever done so.

She then brought the pup to her chest, playing with the soft fur on his belly. "You poor thing... I do deeply sympathize with you, my dear. But to be honest I'm not so sure what to do, myself. If I had ever tried to bring a wolf pup home to my father, he probably would have taken you out to the lake, if you know what I mean." The pup looked a little concerned, so she hurried to add, "Which I of course would never approve of. I could also never approve of a dangerous animal being kept on school grounds. But are you dangerous? I see that your mother was certainly a wolf..."

Her eyelids flickered, and Cedric realized that she was seeing visions as she held onto the pup. She continued, "Wolves are normally dangerous... But your mother wasn't, not really. She was more scared than anything. She had been captured by a hunter when she was just a pup like you. Like any dog, a wolf may or may not be domesticated with loving care, but the man who captured your mother was cruel. She escaped from him shortly after conceiving you with a woolly Arendelle sheep-dog. That does explain why you're so especially fluffy, my little wolf-in-sheep's-clothing."

But then her eyes became sad as the last few visions passed through her mind. "She was still young, but bringing you into the world made her weak... She cared for you, her only son, as long as she could... But she eventually lost the fight to cold and hunger..."

The pup burrowed into her bosom, and she stroked his fur to comfort him. After a moment or two she finally looked back to Cedric, "I don't know why your poor old raven, bless his heart, brought you to this pup in his final hours... But we can't ignore the fact that he did. I won't ignore it, the way people ignored me when I tried to warn them of things to come as a child. Things would have been better if they'd listened to me, and I have a feeling things will be better if this pup lives and is loved, rather than not. He'll need to stay in the courtyard during class hours, but as long as he minds himself... He can stay."

Cedric beamed as she handed him the pup back, commenting as she did, "So what are you going to name this special boy, with his beautiful frost-blue eyes?"

He smiled as he held the pup up and noted the shade of blue himself, which reminded him of all the other blue-eyed people in his life - Goodwin, Winifred, and Princess Sofia. How he missed them. "Hmm... Well, how about 'Frost-eye' then?

Frost-eye seemed to smile too as he stuck his tongue out and panted at his new master, "Woof!"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Within a year, Frost-eye had grown into one of the strangest beasts Cedric had ever seen. He looked mostly like his wolf mother, and was tall but lean. However, he had inherited an extra shaggy coat from his sheep-dog father, especially around the chest, which puffed up and made him look much more muscular and imposing than he really was. Well, not that he wasn't imposing for a good reason, he was. If one of the magic-haters in town ever got it in their head to loiter around and glare at the property as they sometimes did, Frost-eye was quick to growl and snarl until they felt it was a better idea to go away.

But to those he was familiar with, Cedric and Lars especially, he was as tame and as friendly as could be. Anyone who saw them on one of their walks together would think it was terribly strange, but Cedric never felt the least amount of fear or apprehension around the large and wild-looking dog. Lars was much the same way, and although some of the school-children were timid around the large dog just as some adults would still be, most of them had bonded with him as a pup and still liked to give his ear a pet now and then, which he always responded to by either lolling his tongue out, or rolling onto his back and insisting upon a belly rub.

Lars was always happy to take care of Frost-eye if Cedric asked him to, and through Frost-eye he managed to bond better with the other school-children too. He was also always happy to do pretty much any errand or task Cedric had for him, and although many of his students had gotten much better since his first day on the job, none of them had the raw talent and understanding of all the components of potion-making and magical botany like Lars did. He was a true prodigy who could both grow most of his own ingredients, then use them in potent mixtures that always worked exactly as they should. By halfway through his seventh year, Cedric and Posey had run out of material to teach him. He had mastered everything, had memorized every book about their subjects that the school possessed.

So it was clear to Cedric who he ought to choose to be his progeny, and when he brought the proposal to Lars at the beginning of his eighth year, the young man was only too flattered and eager to accept. He still continued to come after classes for the final year though, and brushed up on the subjects that he wasn't as good at.

As soon as he was of legal age, Lars moved out of his father's home immediately, and although it wasn't entirely legal, he brought his two little sisters to live with him at the academy-castle until they were of age too. The following year, after Cedric had prepared him as much as possible, he handed down the position of Potions Master to Lars Garth Bartholomeus, thereafter known as Professor Bartholomeus.

Out of curiosity, when Cedric asked Professor Starr if he had chosen which of the two rival pupils he would have succeed him, the astronomy teacher had himself a funny grin. Cedric inquired about it of course, to which Starr answered, "Well Cedric, as if turns out, my 'rival' pupils have decided to put aside their rivalry. They say they like looking at the stars together now. So, they're both going to succeed me!"

With his obligations to the Kingdom of Arendelle fulfilled, Cedric finally began to arrange for the trip to return home to Enchancia. He spent the last few weeks with his mother, having grown closer to her than ever, it was even harder to say goodbye to her now than when he'd last done so. When the day came at last that he had to say his final goodbye, he couldn't really bring himself to say it. He just hugged her tight, and promised solemnly, "I'll write to you often... And I'll try to visit again someday..."

She held his jaw and gave him a firm kiss on the cheek. "I'll miss you terribly, my dear boy. And I expect to get an invitation if you ever get married someday!"

Cedric chuckled. "Don't hold your breath, mum, but you'll be the first to get one if I do."

He then shook hands with Lars, who had Frost-eye sitting beside him. He ruffled the dog's head one last time, then gathered his luggage and climbed on board the boat. Frost-eye looked confused, and cocked his head when Cedric looked back at him and the rest of his Arendelle family. He barked in confusion when Cedric turned and started walking back onto the boat, and boarding it alone.

Suddenly, with no warning and no way of stopping him, Frost-eye bolted away from Lars and began to run down the pier. Cedric's ship had just barely begun to sail, but with a mighty leap the wolf hybrid easily cleared the space between the port and the ship, and landed right on Cedric, knocking him down to the floor as he began to lick all over the sorcerer's face.

"Bloody hell!" The sorcerer exclaimed, pushing the wolf snout and his lapping tongue away from him, "Dog! What on Earth do you think you're doing?"

The frightening lupine beast made a worrisome whining noise, pawing at Cedric's chest and flattening his ears down as he looked at his master, pleading. Cedric sighed deeply, "What, dog - Are you saying you'd rather go with me to Enchancia than stay here in Arendelle?"

The dog barked, sharply and right away, which seemed to indicate a decisive 'yes'.

Cedric rolled his eyes, "Oh... Alright, I suppose it'll be fine. But ONLY if you're on your best behavior!" He insisted, even though the pup-at-heart was never not on his 'best' behavior around Cedric anyways. "I mean it!"

As he got up and began to lead the dog back to his quarters, the captain of the ship remarked as he passed, "That's quite some souvenir!"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The boat ride back to Enchancia was slightly less miserable than he remembered. Not only did he have Sofia's scarf to keep him warm this time, but also a big furry dog who refused to let Cedric sleep without being cuddled next to.

When the port of Enchancia finally came into sight, Cedric went up to watch as they arrived. When they were close enough, he realized that King Roland and Baileywick were waiting on the pier for him, as well as a couple of other servants who were waiting by a coach.

He smiled and waved seeing them, but then to his horror, when the ship had come almost close enough to dock, Frost-eye suddenly got antsy and leapt out of the boat himself, dashing straight for Baileywick and the King.

Naturally, seeing a wolf advancing upon them, Baileywick and Roland looked rightly terrified and took a step back. But just in the nick of time, although Frost-eye had only been planning on knocking one of the men down and licking his face, Cedric snapped at the dog in a loud, authoritative voice, "HEEL!"

The imposing dog immediately stopped in it's tracks and sat down on it's hind end, looking back at Cedric in slight confusion. In a hurry to get down and explain himself, Cedric didn't wait for the boat to fully dock either. It was close enough now that he could jump off himself, and so he did so, although that caused the King and his steward to look almost as oddly at Cedric as they had when they'd first seen the dog, especially when Cedric came up and grabbed the ferocious-looking beast by the scruff of his neck.

"I am SO sorry, your majesty!" He insisted, glaring down at the dog. "I know he looks scary, but I promise he's tame! I'm sure he was just eager to get off the boat! Serves him right for insisting to come upon it! I tried to leave him with my protege in Arendelle you see, but he simply wouldn't let me leave without him..."

King Roland and Baileywick were still staring openly at Cedric, which made him squirm, feeling the need to further explain, "Um - I promise you though, he's very well trained! I'm afraid Wormwood passed away while I was gone, but just before he did he saved this beast as a pup, and he's been ridiculously attached to me ever since..."

Baileywick seemed to recover first, but he waited for King Roland to comment, "Cedric... Is that, a WOLF...?"

Cedric broke out into a sweat. "Er, well, -half- wolf, I believe, yes." He admitted reluctantly, but was quick to add, "But also half sheep-dog! And as far as temperament goes, he's really more like a sheep-dog! He would even herd the children into school as soon as he heard the morning bells began to ring!"

The duo was silent for another few seconds after Cedric's answer, then the King suddenly began to snicker uncontrollably. Baileywick did snort once as well, then quickly composed himself. "I'm sorry Cedric, it's just such a shock seeing you like this, after all these years!"

Cedric blinked, "H-How do you mean...?"

"Well obviously the upgrade from pet raven to pet WOLF is one thing." Baileywick pointed out right away. "And then there's the long hair... And, well..." The normally stoic steward hesitated and even blushed a little.

The King was still trying to overcome the urge to laugh openly and heartily, and was honestly failing at it, so he finally just gave up trying. "Seriously!" He began, walking over and giving Cedric a hearty slap on the back, "Where's the scrawny sorcerer I sent off to Arendelle, and who is this manly, muscular magician? AHAHA!"

Baileywick was definitely blushing now, "Muscular is a bit much, your majesty. But you do seem to have, er, 'filled out', Cedric..."

Now it was the sorcerer's turn to blush, and he averted his eyes from his two peers, noticing as he did so that another coach was coming up to the pier, "Oh, uh, well, perhaps all those years of trudging through the Arendelle snow and chasing after this mutt and the students did it..."

The second coach pulled up to the dock and parked, and after the footman had opened the door it was revealed that none other than Goodwin and Winifred had been inside. Winifred immediately rushed over to her son and wrapped her arms around his waist just like she used to. There was one thing that was different though - There were strands of grey mixed in with her brown hair now. She cried, "Oh, Cedric, my Ceddykins, you're finally back!"

Cedric leaned his head down on hers just like he used to. Sarah had been an excellent mother to him while he needed to be away, but he was finally -home- now. "Good to see you too, mummy!"

Pulling back for a moment, she held him at arm's length. "Oh, let me get a look at you!" She gasped melodramatically. "Goodwin, would you take a look at our son! Look how handsome he's gotten!"

"Hmm... Yes, I suppose he does look less twig-like than I remember." Goodwin allowed him with a teasing smirk. "Welcome home, son. And who is this fascinating creature?" He added as Frost-eye rather suddenly came up and started sniffing at him, as if there was an especially fascinating scent on Goodwin that he couldn't seem to get enough of.

"Oh yes!" Cedric nodded, "This is Frost-eye. Wormwood led me to him as a pup, shortly before he died a few winters ago. It's rather as if..." He purposefully sought out his father's eyes as he added, "As if Wormwood gave his life to protect Frost-eye..."

Goodwin raised an eyebrow back at him, and answered very pointedly, "Hmm. Well then, I'm sure it must be because he considered him to be like family, and believed he was worthy of such a sacrifice..."

Sorcerer Father and Sorcerer Son shared a secret smile, and then they whisked Cedric and the faithful Frost-eye back home to Enchancia Castle.

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The King arranged a quiet but stately banquet that night for Cedric's return, and Cedric ate with much more gusto than when he'd first arrived in Arendelle. Not that he hadn't eaten well while he was there - In fact he had mostly 'filled out' on Sarah's cooking, and he looked forward to sharing some old-fashioned Arendelle recipes with the Enchancian chefs.

But tonight, he dined on the taste of home, which included one of the biggest turkeys Enchancia's poulterers had produced that year, lemonade with Enchancian Mint, and a knock-off recipe inspired by Duchess Matilda's world-famous apple pie, which included the heaps of cinnamon-spiced caramel sauce that the apple slices came tossed in. It was a very good substitute, but the crust wasn't as perfectly, magically flaky as Matilda managed to make hers. Even though he'd just had his dessert, Cedric's mouth watered just thinking about how amazingly smooth and melt-in-your-mouth that crust was. It was like eating a pillow made out of butter, flour, sugar, and your wildest hopes and dreams...

Roland mentioned about the same thing when he had finished his meal, "Mm-mm-mmm! That pie was amazing! But I can't wait to see Tilly when she comes back to the castle next week! Of course, mostly to see the return of my radiant daughter, Princess Sofia - Who in her absence has been training under Tilly's tutelage to be a master sorceress! But, I'm sure I can convince Tilly to make one of her amazing apple pies while she's here too..."

Cedric couldn't help but raise both his brows in shock when he heard that. He'd always known that Sofia was talented enough, and besides that enough of a hard worker to pull off almost anything she set her mind to, but he was still honestly more impressed with her now than he'd ever been before. The Duchess Matilda was much more well known for being the most celebrated sorceress in the entire Tri-Kingdom Area than for her royal status, and many already reputable magicians had sought her out in the past, only to be turned away every time.

So although there had been a time when Cedric wanted nothing more than to be away from Sofia, he suddenly found himself wanting the exact opposite now. He was more excited than he could or would dare say to see the woman she had become, and the week until that day was to come was one of the longest he'd ever lived through.

Still though, when that day finally did come, Cedric did not go to the dock with the rest of Sofia's family to greet her. He was too nervous and he felt that it simply wasn't his place. But even when that night's feast came around, he was still trying to avoid the halls he knew she usually took, planning on hanging around the outskirts of the main event and hoping to catch of glimpse of her from afar, rather than approach her directly.

About a half hour before the guests were expected to arrive, he was watching the main foyer from a servant's passageway, which led to the kitchens. Every time he checked she still wasn't there, though. He figured she was probably spending extra time getting ready.

That is, until the very woman he was secretly stalking tapped him on the shoulder from behind. When he turned and saw her face, he jumped back as if it were the face of a frightening apparition. But actually, although his eyes widened and his heart pounded with nervousness, it was an entirely different sensation from fear that he was feeling when he saw her face.

She was... Resplendent. Glorious. Not just by her perfectly symmetrical beauty, although that was obviously the first thing most people noticed about her. But Cedric's eyes went straight to hers as they sought him out, and within the wise blue orbs he could clearly see her magnificently humble pride, as well as in her regal posture. She had lost nearly all of the cherubic chubbiness from her childhood face, but had gained the most exquisite refinement in return, as if she were literally the artistry of an angel. She was wearing a lavender gown, very similar to the kind she used to favor as a child, but with slightly more of periwinkle twinge in the hue.

As soon as she had recognized him for sure, her pink-painted lips blossomed into a smile at his ridiculous gaping. "It IS you!" She exclaimed, right before throwing her arms around his shoulders and squeezing him tight. He quickly put his hands out and away from all parts of her body, although he couldn't bring himself to shove her soft form away either. She continued, "Oh Cedric! It's SO good to see you again!"

"P-P-Princess Sofia!" He timidly stammered back to her, not sure what else to say at first, and unable to think of anything quickly when the most perfect woman he'd ever known was so close to him that he could smell her perfume. His knowledgeable nostrils could detect that it was made from a blend of pure essential oils: Vanilla, chamomile, lavender, and perhaps just a drop or two of the purest rose.

She finally stepped back and allowed him some room to breathe again, but still holding onto his forearms as she continued to glance over him. "Oh my goodness! At first I wasn't sure if it was you! You look so different with long hair..." She remarked, then shyly added, "It looks very dashing on you, though!"

He glanced away from her and pulled his arms back, reaching up and fiddling with the ponytail. "Er, well, thank you... B-But wait, what are you doing back here in the servant's passageway?" He added, no longer able to bring himself to use the exact same scolding tone he used to take with her when she was a child.

"I was visiting my old friend Gwen!" She answered simply but cheerfully, watching him comb his fingers through the locks of his hair. "Do you ever braid it?" She added, her fingers twitching with temptation.

He glared weakly and pulled the ponytail back behind his shoulder. "Actually, I'm thinking of cutting it." He replied bluntly, but quickly added, "I may braid it then though, and keep the lock as a bookmark, to remind me of my time in Arendelle..."

Sofia almost looked disappointed, but by the end of his explanation her smile had returned. "Oh, that sounds like a great idea! I am glad I got to see your new hairstyle, but I'm sure you'll still look handsome when it's gone..."

He lip curled downward at that strange comment, as well as that 'dashing' bit. "Erm... Princess Sofia..." He began hesitantly, "Do you remember what we talked about the last time we saw each other...?"

"Of course, Cedric!" She replied with grin, seemingly no longer saddened by his rejection in the least. However, she still felt comfortable in taking one of his arms back and entwining it with hers as she began to lead him down the passageway, past the kitchen and into the garden beyond that. "But come, let's not dwell on what we already know - Let's catch up on what we don't! Did you hear that I've been studying with my Aunt Tilly the last few years?"

"Oh, yes!" Cedric replied much more eagerly than before. "That really is something, actually! You must have learned quite a lot of impressive magic from the Duchess Matilda!"

"You bet I did!" She grinned back at him, "Check this out! Tumultus Flores!" She called out while pulling out a lovely ivory-colored ashwood wand, which was engraved with seemingly random swirls and spirals. A light green glow emerged from the tip of her wand and flowed like a whirlpool all around them, collecting all the petals and stray blades of grass and spinning them around and round the magical pair.

"Very nice!" He praised right away in earnest, watching until the flora floated back down to earth. "May I ask - What kind of core does your wand have?"

She hugged the magical stick lovingly as she answered, "A sprig of rosemary, an amethyst stone, and a mermaid's scale!" She answered proudly, "Aunt Tilly made it especially for me!"

"Lucky you." Cedric agreed, honestly a little envious even though he already had an impressive collection of wands himself. "So what else did you do with the Duchess?"

"Oh, we went a lot of different places, met a lot of different people... I actually danced with, and went on a few dates with a few boys! I even kissed one..." She admitted mischievously, only pretending to be shy about divulging that information to him, and also neglecting to mention that it was only on the cheek.

He stared openly at her for that, just as she expected, and weakly replied, in a bit of shock, "O-Oh...?"

"Yep!" Her shy smile stretched into a grin. "I danced with a girl too! I met the most amazing author while I was in the U.S. Her name was Frances Hodgson. She was SO talented, and gorgeous to boot! Here, I've got a picture of her. Isn't she beautiful?"

Procuring it right from thin air, Sofia handed the black and white photo to Cedric, who couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the image from first glance. He would never call any maiden 'ugly', Winifred had raised him better than that, but he couldn't honestly say that he saw what Sofia was seeing in Ms. Hodgson. So instead he lied, "Oh, er, yes, she's very-Um, handsome!" After all, Sofia apparently thought Cedric of all people was good-looking too, so obviously she seemed to be the type to see beauty in clearly unconventional sources. It endeared her all the more to Cedric, who was relieved to see that she had at least moved on to romancing other interesting individuals by now.

She was about to go on to say something else, but suddenly the clock struck six, and the bell rang loudly for everyone to hear. "Whoops! Where DID the time go? Looks like I need to start heading to my own party now, or else I'll be late! I actually have a really big announcement to make after dinner, so you'll be there to hear it, right Cedric?"

He nodded, "Very well, your highness."

She smiled a small smile back at him, and took a couple steps towards him. "Just one more thing, Cedric?"

He blinked up at her - She'd grown to be just an inch or two shorter than him, but in heels she matched his height. "Er - Yes, Princess Sofia?"

Placing her hands on his shoulders, she gave him a sympathetic sort of smile as she continued, "I'm terribly sorry, Cedric. But I feel like I must do this at least once..."

"Wha-?" He began to ask, but then in a move too shocking for Cedric to completely comprehend right away, she had bent forward, tilted her head and sealed her lips to his, her eyes fluttering shut as his went as wide as they'd ever gone before in his life.

It was his First Kiss. Excluding, of course, the platonic cheek-kisses he had gotten from his mothers on many occasions. This, however, was about as similar to those experiences as water was to oil, and speaking of oil, he could smell that she was wearing more of that vanilla flower essential oil in her beeswax and honey lip salve, as well as some kind of berry juice which gave it that pretty pink color. So it was quite literally a sweet kiss, both the scent and the way she so very gently pressed against his lips, which were just slightly ajar in shock.

Cedric was also very abruptly aware that he'd never really paid especially close attention to the beating of his heart before. He'd always just assumed it was there unless it demanded his attention after a bout of strenuous physical activity. Well, it was demanding his attention from him now, and there wasn't a single chance in heaven or hell that he'd ever be able to ignore or avoid this woman again for the rest of his life.

The part of him that knew he should pull back this instant had seemingly been sealed away by Sofia's kiss, and after the initial moment of instinctive awe, his eyes slipped shut, his heartbeat lulled, and without entirely realizing it he had found himself pressing his lips back, just barely.

As soon as he had done that, Sofia suddenly pulled away again, smiling with her cheeks tinted pink. "I'm so sorry..." She repeated again, though his brain wasn't functioning well enough yet to remember why she felt she ought to be. His mind was still navigating through the maze of sensation and emotion that her simple kiss had built around it, the shivers running up his spine and the elation of his heart. "I swear that will never happen again unless you say it may, and I swear that I DID try to do what you asked of me years ago. I tried to see other men, closer to my age, but..."

She drew a breath and took a step back, raising a hand up to her chest, above her heart. "It never felt the same around them. My heart never leaped with joy when I was around them... Like it always does when I'm around you."

She glanced back up at him, "I still love you, Cedric, and I always will... But I'll never come to you again unless you come to me first, I promise."

Fulfilling her promise on the spot, she immediately turned on her heel and walked back towards the castle, away from him. Suddenly hit by the realization of what happened, Cedric looked around around him in paranoia that someone might have seen, but of course Sofia was smarter than that, and no one was around, or at least close enough to see. Waiting for her to arrive where she was going first, Cedric then slowly re-entered the servant's passageway, intending on watching this important speech Sofia had mentioned from afar and then going straight to bed, before it was impossible to convince himself this hadn't just been a dream.

However, halfway down the corridor, Cedric spotted Baileywick up ahead, and he quickly ducked his head down, trying to avoid having to strike up a conversation after the awkwardness that had just occurred. Unfortunately for him, the royal steward didn't give him that choice. Stopping him with a hand on his shoulder, Baileywick looked down at the shorter man and commented somewhat slow and awkwardly himself, as if he didn't really want to be talking to Cedric, but for whatever strange reason was forcing himself to make the comment, "Uh - Cedric? You know what's a good thing to keep on your person? Handkerchiefs. I always keep a few extra with me."

"What...?" Cedric returned in supreme confusion, even more baffled when Baileywick procured one of his immaculate white squares of cloth, and wiped Cedric's mouth with it.

The cold horror of realization hit the sorcerer even before Baileywick pulled the handkerchief back and showed him the lip-shaped smudge of pink. His face immediately turned so red that it was barely a shade lighter than his blood, and with a twinge of color in his cheeks as well as a small smirk, Baileywick quietly mentioned, "I must say I'm surprised, Cedric! I'm not going to tell, of course. I simply must insist you be more discreet in the future, and mind your lady-friend's make-up. But honestly I'm glad for you - I suppose someone must have missed you an awful lot while you were away!"

After tucking the lipstick-soiled cloth in Cedric's front pocket, Baileywick shuffled around him and continued on his way. Grumbling a quick, mortified, "Thanks..." Back to the steward, Cedric continued on his way in a fast walk, determined to get past everyone else without saying another word.

He managed it and made his way to the tunnel that led to the unicorn and lion tapestry he liked to hide behind when he wanted to view events but not be a part of him. Looking over the room as it began to crowd with more and more of the arriving guests, Cedric's gaze kept returning to Sofia, his skin lighting up with a new blush every time he remembered her unexpected kiss. But she didn't look the least bit perturbed in the least! She hugged her parents, siblings and friends without even a hint of a blush, seemingly completely shameless about the fact that she had just kissed a much older man in secret.

He did notice, though, that she ate very little. No more than a few grapes and a couple cubes of cantaloupe. And she seemed distracted, although she was as polite to all her guests as she ever was, on the few occasions where she did have a few seconds to herself, her eyes seemed faraway...

After dinner the guests danced with each other to sprightly violin music for close to an hour, and after that King Roland politely asked for everyone's attention as he announced that he would be commencing the specially planned event for the night - Formally welcoming his daughter and the Princess of Enchancia home, and presenting her with a new custom-made tiara engraved in emeralds and amethysts, in honor of Tilly recently proclaiming her a fully fledged sorceress.

"Welcome home, Princess Sofia." She curtseyed before him as he placed the tiara on her head, straightening up again afterward and smiling up at him. Again though, Cedric could see that her smile was not completely genuine. She was hiding something...

But not for long. Clearing her throat softly, Sofia addressed the king in turn, "Thank you, father. I'm more grateful than you could ever know for everything you've given me in my life, and I dearly hope that, no matter what, even if I should ever fail to please you, we'll still be family, always..."

Roland blinked in surprise at her strangely cryptic words, and responded hesitantly, "Er, well of course, Sofia..."

She sighed with relief, then steeled her posture and her resolve as she began again, with a new kind of determination, "Father, as you know, I've been traveling near and far over the years. Mostly far. I've seen so many amazing things and met all kinds of interesting human characters. All of these people I've met, in varying degrees, have touched my life and changed who I was before I left, overall much more for the better than not. But I am a completely different person now than I was before, and I can't go back to the way I was..."

"Sofia...? Roland softly mumbled as she paused to think, utterly confused about where she was going with all this, but still trying to be supportive.

"Father." She returned, much more sure of herself now. "I know I'm just one person, and that what I do can only make so much of an impact on the world at large. But I have seen children starving, and I have seen people drink with pearls and diamonds in their glasses, and I just can't make sense of it. You brought me into this world, and at first I was so scared of it because I didn't think I belonged her. So I worked hard to prove myself worthy of what I had been given. Now I think I understand better than I did then... The truth is, I'm still not worthy of any of this. Because if there is anyone in the world who isn't worthy to live well, then no one is worthy to live lavishly. How can I dress in crowns of gold when some children don't even have food?"

Nervous but still completely sure in herself and the actions she was currently undertaking, she reached up to the top of her head and slipped the tiara off. "As I said before, I dearly hope you will always continue to think of me as your daughter... But I cannot continue to have the world think of me as a princess, not as long as there's a single girl in this world who is considered a slave. Therefore..." Slowly, she held the tiara out to him. "King Roland, I hereby formally renounce my crown, and abdicate from my title as Princess of Enchancia."

Cedric's mouth fell completely open, as did nearly every other guests in attendance, despite their years of etiquette training. Even Amber, cool, collected and obsessed with appearances as she normally was, had briefly taken on the appearance of a fish out of water.

Roland stared down in shock at his daughter. Some semblance of offense passed over his eyes for a brief second or two, but it quickly turned to sadness, and then finally acceptance. "Sofia... Are you absolutely sure this is what you really want...?" He whispered to her, even though he knew deep down that she would never say anything to begin with that wasn't true to her heart.

"Yes." She answered without the slightest bit of hesitation.

Slowly he nodded. "Very well... I hereby release you from your title as princess, Lady Sofia. I am sorry that you felt you didn't belong as a princess. But you'll always belong here, as my daughter."

"Thank you SO much, father..." Sofia answered, her eyes shining as he finally reached down and took the tiara from her.

Hesitating just a second, she then reached for the Amulet of Avalor, which had Cedric close to biting his nails in anticipation. But King Roland quickly and firmly interrupted her, "No. You keep that one, Sofia..."

She nodded with a grateful smile, and reached in to embrace her father, her petite arms stronger than Roland ever remembered them being before. After releasing her for the second time, Sofia concluded, "I think I'd like to retire for the night, if that's alright with you."

He nodded, not sure if he could trust his voice right away. Sofia curtseyed one last time, then turned and made her way through the crowd. They all moved aside to let her through, tittering among each other about what had just transpired.

Cedric was so amazed that he'd stepped out of his hiding place, staring at her openly as she walked through the room once more as a commoner, just like when she was still a child. And yet, with her back straight and her head held high, she still managed to look more regal than anyone else in the room.

And that mirthful smile of excitement, which she directed at him just briefly before continuing out of the foyer - There was no doubt about that smile. She was truly happy with her choice.

Who could blame her? She was free.

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End file.
